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Tereno
|homeworld= Terom |height= 219–259 cm (7 ft 2 in–8ft 5 in) |weight=120–198 kg (264–436.5 lbs) |skincolor= |lifespan= |population= |languages= |era= |distinctions=Webbed digits; collapsible lungs; smooth and hairless skin; can breathe through skin |types= |affiliation=* *The Forsaken }} The Tereno are a sapient species that formerly belonged to the . Named "flowed seekers" in their own language, the Tereno are remarkably advanced, considering they would often study the technology of the in secret and have developed it into their own. Despite their affiliation with the Covenant, they are a largely peaceful species and typically resides above or below the ocean in cities, or on the islands that cover their homeworld of Terom. History Prehistory The Tereno first achieved space-faring status circa 102,480 BCE where they would explore their local sector but would rarely colonize any other worlds, but simply focus on gathering raw materials. During their later years, the Tereno made every effort possible to avoid all Forerunner patrol ships that crossed their path. It would be discovered that the Tereno were well aware of Forerunner monitoring and made every effort to keep their attention to their home system while their ships would salvage Forerunner and human technology from the battlegrounds of the . After catching them in the act, the Tereno were forcibly policed within their home system by orders of the and were forced to hand over all technology they had scavenged, at least those that were within the Forerunner's reach. During their years of imprisonment, the Flood would begin to spread across the galaxy and the Forerunner life workers, in an attempt to re-seed all life, had collected samples of as many species as possible, the Tereno being one of them. The Flood would find their way to Terom and siege, quickly swiping aside their and began to assimilate all life on the planet before the Guardian's remains crashed into the world's ocean. After the Great Purification and their own reseeding, the Tereno would eventually re-discover hidden records left by their ancestors about the Forerunners, Flood and other topics. However, many information within were kept from them as it required a significant amount of power to unlock, preventing them from getting an advantage over other species and the record itself remained forgotten once again for thousands of years. Post-Great Purification Thousands of years after being reseeded onto their homeworld, the Tereno would once again leave the relative safety of the sea and explore their world; leading to a series of conflicts with the dangerous sentient wildlife that had become dominant in their absences. The Tereno would discover a hidden cache that had originated from a more advanced society. Upon intense scrutiny, it would be discovered that it had belonged to the ancient Tereno and was locked with their technology, preventing them from accessing it. However, they were able to decipher a little information about their past, a parasitic species and a machine that attempted to guard them against it. Fortunately, the device was used as a power source for the Tereno and their society as a whole. With the revelation of their people once being spacefaring, the Tereno as a whole began a technological revolution that saw them advance quickly and allowed them to re-establish above-ocean cities and reclaim many lost territories on the landmasses with the help of automated war drones and later various models that assisted them in minor tasks. The Tereno underwent a population boom due to the increase in living space and would lead to advancements in the medical and agricultural fields. Reaching for the Stars After millennia of advancement in isolation, the Tereno began to develop spaceships that allowed them to traverse their solar system at progressively higher speeds over time. Within the solar system and on the planet Enaiot, the Tereno would discover a long-buried merchant starship that formerly belonged to their ancestors. They would soon reverse-engineer slipspace technology from its onboard FTL drive. Over the next several hundred years, the Tereno would settle dozens of local star systems that fit their requirements for colonization or establishing installations. Many worlds that didn't fit their requirements were subject strip mining, manufacturing and R&D. Covenant encounter Description Anatomy & physiology Culture Mythology Post-Purification Tereno worshipped a variety of deities that held dominion over specific aspects of their environment (e.g Hot Water, East Wind, Storms). They believed that these beings did not have direct control over these aspects, but were simply labels to identify and thank them for what they did. Later on, their pantheon began to develop more into a respect for nature rather than supreme beings to worship. For many thousands of years after, the Tereno's worship began to wane and their gods drifted into legends and stories. After the discovery of the ancient Tereno data cache and later the Forerunner Guardian, interest in the old stories would reemerge as possible misidentified events in the distant past and studied more closely for possible hints of the truth. The strongest piece of evidence suggesting this hypothesis is the general appearance of the starship they discovered that resembled that of Hagir, a being in Tereno mythology who was often seen as a harsh punisher but a guardian who fell against the God of Plague. Through enough work, researchers managed to find details about another group of "gods" that were not related to their own but came from the same as Hagir, the consensus among researchers was that these gods were, in fact, another species and their own gods being their ancestors. With the arrival of the Covenant, the Tereno would largely play the part of religious devotees when in the company of their local Exarch and play up the actions of the Forerunners to the point of manufacturing false religious texts to prevent retaliation from the San'Shyuum. Ceremonies Language Naming Conventions The individual Tereno typically has four parts of their names, their personal name, a characteristic, their parent's name and where they are from. Their personal name would usually indicate a certain aspect that their parents want them to possess. Their second name is given to them once they reach a certain age where their body and mentality matures. Their third name is traditionally the name given to their mother, but can also be their father's if the Tereno in question wishes it. Their fourth name indicates their clan, city, nation or world they were born. A newborn Tereno is officially given their first and fourth name by their parents. The second name is chosen for them by those who witnessed their birth and hyphenated once they reach maturity and their body changes. The third name is chosen by the Tereno once they have proven they are fit enough to rely upon themselves and not their parents. Homeworld and colonies Terom is a world largely covered in oceans with a few large landmasses. Terom is orbited by a single natural satellite named Skiamene. The wreckage of long-dead ships dotted the bottom of the oceans, some from the Flood's invasion and others from another time. Having evolved in the seas of Terom, the Tereno are capable of living in both water and land, but for the former, they are required to moisturize themselves to prevent health complications. Because of this, they typically chose to colonize worlds that resemble Terom or live in technology that assists them in living in the environment. Outside of their home system, Tereno can be found in isolated star systems living on oceanic worlds, stations orbiting other worlds or between stars on their stations to mine Oort clouds or passing asteroids of resources. Technology Category:Covenant fringe species